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This page: Matthew Goes to China, April 3 - 20
April 26 - May 19

Matthew Goes to China

April 3 - 20, 2006

Yangshuo

Yangshuo used to be a backpacker place. Then the Chinese decided they wanted to be backpackers, too and a few years ago they took over the town. It was very very crowded. They filled the streets.

They came in groups.

They built Chinese restaurants.

They went wet and wild on the Yulong River.

And filled the streets at night. They used to call Xi Jie (West Street) "Foreigner Street" but almost everybody was Chinese. Maybe they felt foreign there, too, and that's why they came.

They tried to make political statements. Which, in China, can be difficult to get right.

But some guys like Forrest just paint. If you can find him.

You can do a lot of shopping in Yangshuo.

I always offered 2 yuan for everything.

Or I just let Grandma shop.

Or Mommy.

But not Daddy. He said it was all junk and said instead we should visit the countryside.

So we did.

And I made new friends.

And then I fell asleep.

There are lots of vegetables grown in the area.

So the markets are full. In the meats section are a lot of dogs for sale but they yell at you if you try to take a picture.

This is Margaret. She's been a tour guide in Yangshuo for a long time. Daddy has known her since his first visit here in 1998. She doesn't work as a guide so much anymore. Too much competition and maybe she's just bored.

Tired of Yangshuo, we took a long trip north of Guilin to the rice terraces of Longsheng. For many years Daddy has wanted to visit and he finally got to go. This is what we saw when we arrived.

So we waited around for awhile and Mommy took pictures.

And I played.

And finally we got to see something.

Then it was back to Yangshuo.

At the end of the trip we left from Xiamen and had to wait in the airport for five hours.

And that was my trip to China.

May 25
May 26 - June 2
June 3 - June 9
June 20 - July 11
July 23 - September 9
September 18 - 25
September 30 - October 30
November 10 - January 9
January 14 - March 10
March 26 - 31
This page: Matthew Goes to China, April 3 - 20
April 26 - May 19

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All text and photographs © 1998 - 2006 Gordon Sharpless. Commercial or editorial usage without written permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.